Daniel's Absence
by PenPatronus
Summary: After the events of "The Quest," season 10, Sam tells Jack that Adria has captured Daniel. Hurt/comfort, drama, angst, friendship.


**Summary: **After the events of "The Quest," season 10, Sam tells Jack that Adria has Daniel. Drama, angst, friendship.

**Author's Notes:** Reviews are welcome!

**Daniel's Absence  
**PenPatronus

General Jack O'Neill looked forward to his monthly meeting at the SGC. All of the faxes and emails and phone calls between Colorado and Washington D.C. never quite gave Jack the details he wanted. He missed sitting at the same table during the briefings with the teams. He missed hearing about the stories in between the stories, the details that never made it to the mission reports. Like who slipped and muddied their pants and how hot, exactly, that alien priestess was. So, once a month, he flew out.

He was supposed to have a few hours of downtime before he went to the SGC. Usually he went straight to Daniel's house to take a nap on his couch and drink his beer. It wasn't that O'Neill couldn't afford a hotel, but Daniel was always so busy with his work that the only time they really got to talk was outside the base anyway. Jack was looking forward to a nap but instead of a cab waiting for him outside of baggage claim, he found an SGC escort.

"Come on, boys," Jack whined to the two young airmen who loaded his luggage into the trunk of a limousine. "Can't this wait?"

"General Landry's orders, sir," the first airman explained.

"There's a briefing he wants you at in half an hour," said the second.

"I was on a red-eye, you know. I need a nap and a sleepy general is a grumpy general!" Jack folded his arms and stood his ground. "Tell you what, I'll come an hour early for our 2:00 meeting. Whatever it is, it can wait until then."

While Jack spoke, the back door to the limo opened and a woman stepped out. "Sorry sir," said Samantha Carter, "this can't wait."

Jack grinned and immediately smoothed down his wrinkled shirt and took off his sunglasses. "Colonel Carter!" He stepped forward as if to embrace her, thought better of it, and saluted instead. Sam was in her blue uniform pants and a black shirt. Her hair was disheveled and the skin beneath her eyes betrayed the fact that she hadn't slept.

Sam saluted back. "Nice to see you, Sir." She smiled, but Jack could tell that it was forced. She gestured toward the limo and said, "I'll explain on the way."

Jack frowned at the tone of her voice. He glanced at the two airmen and saw that they were serious, too. Without another word, Jack climbed into the back of the limo and sat down. Sam sat across from him, shut the door and rolled up the tinted, sound-proof window that separated them from the airmen up front. As the limo pulled away from the terminal, Jack grew impatient.

"Report, Colonel," he barked.

Sam glanced at him, then stared down at her boots. "We almost called right before you boarded your flight, Sir, but I wanted to tell you in person."

"_Carter_."

She met his eyes. Hers were suddenly full of tears. Jack felt his stomach, mind and heart freeze into chunks of ice. "Who died?" he whispered.

Sam spit it out in a shaky voice: "We think that Adria has Daniel. We don't know if he's alive."

The ice in Jack's body melted and trickled, freezing cold, down to his toes. He got up, crouched beneath the low ceiling and shuffled over to sit beside Sam. He didn't know which question to ask first. "You _think_? You don't _know_?"

"Adria attacked us. Cam, Vala, Teal'c and I got through the Gate. He wasn't far behind us, Sir, you know we didn't mean to leave him behind-" A tear slipped out and Sam rubbed it away angrily. "It's a long story, Sir, but that's the last we saw of him."

Jack felt the water in his toes heat up, rise to his head and boil there. "If that Ori bitch has him he's as good as dead," he spat. He immediately regretted his words when Sam sniffed and had to wipe away more tears.

"General Landry wants you there when SG-1 apprises the team leaders of the situation."

"And after that we'll come up with a plan to rescue Daniel."

Sam lowered her head and covered her eyes with the palm of her hand. "Sir, I don't think—I don't know how..."

"Hey." Jack scooted closer and put his hands on her shoulders. "Look at me, Carter." He softened his voice. "Samantha, look at me."

She did, and she was crying. Suddenly she threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. "I'm so scared," she hiccupped, shaking in his arms like she was freezing cold.

Jack wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her back with all his might. He rubbed her back and kissed her hair as she sobbed.

After several moments, Sam finally stopped trembling and noticed that Jack had started. "You're shaking, Sir," she whispered, running her hands up and down his back, trying to soothe him as he had her.

Jack didn't deny it. "I'm scared, too," he whispered.

**SGSGSGSGSGSGSGSG**

It was almost midnight when Jack got to Daniel's house. He was exhausted, running purely on adrenaline. He'd spent most of the day brainstorming with the rest of the SGC about how to find Daniel. Meeting after meeting after meeting after meeting. Daniel's absence in the conference room was as noticeable as a presence. And they were no closer to a solution than they'd ever been. The only downtime Jack had was when he ate supper with SG-1. He'd almost choked on a carrot when Teal'c described, with pride, how Carter had punched Baal in the face. Served the bastard right, clone or not. O'Neill wanted to promote her to a general just for that.

The porch light wasn't on, so he fumbled with his key chain in the dark for a full five minutes. He opened the front door, dragged his luggage into the foyer and locked the door behind him. The only light he could see came from the clock on the microwave. He groped around for the nearest light switch and flipped it.

Jack half-expected to find Daniel sitting on the couch, reading, like nothing had happened. He half-expected to discover Daniel digging out his rarely used TV and asking Jack where to plug in the cable. He half-expected to see Daniel walk out of the kitchen, hand him a beer and set up the chess board to play a game. But the place was quiet and empty. He'd been so busy that day that the reality of the situation, of Daniel's almost-certain death, hadn't really hit him. The news began to sink it now, and Jack sank with it. He felt his body grow heavy, sluggish, and hypersensitive. He knew what it felt like to literally go into shock, and this feeling was a precursor to it.

Daniel was gone. Probably dead. Again. And again, not for the first, second or third time, there was no body for Jack to bury. There was nothing to confirm except that he was MIA. If they found – _when_ they find Daniel alive, Jack wasn't sure what he would do first: hug him, ask him for a cool Merlin-esque fireworks display or lecture him for being an idiot and looking into a Repository of Knowledge.

There was a note on the kitchen table. Jack picked it up and saw Daniel's handwriting:

"J,"

"This mission might go long – make yourself at home. There's leftover Chinese and beer in the fridge, sheets and pillows are on the couch. Help yourself. See you soon,"

"DB."

Jack smiled at the initials for "Danny-Boy."

He put the note down and looked around the quiet, empty house. "See you soon," he whispered.

**The End **


End file.
